JD Vance praised Vivek Ramaswamy in Cincinnati on Wednesday for the Amy Acton mother ad that featured Donna Arthur calling Acton a liar. Vance said Ramaswamy had the audacity to run it, putting the spot at the center of the race and the midterm elections fight around Ohio.
Cincinnati rally remarks
Vance told the crowd, "Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar." He also said voters should "focus on the substance and focus on the facts," even as he amplified the ad that drew attention online late Monday.
The ad had already moved from social media into the campaign itself by Tuesday, when Ramaswamy said his campaign had made it. By Wednesday, the spot had become a live part of the race, with Acton directly answering it at a campaign event in Wyandot County.
Acton and Donna Arthur
Acton called the ad "a horrible and hideous thing to do," and said it was "exploitative" and "despicable." The ad featured her estranged mother, Donna Arthur, and Acton has said she has not spoken to her mother since she was 12 years old.
She has also said her mother's second husband molested her between the ages of 9 and 12, and charges were filed against her stepfather. Those details had already made the family history part of the public campaign record before the ad circulated.
Trump and Philip Stearns
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he knew "nothing about it," then added, "it's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek." Acton's campaign answered with an ad featuring her brother, Philip Stearns, who said, "Shame on Vivek" and "It's the contempt he has for Amy. It's the contempt he has for Ohio. He's not fit to lead."
Vance's comments leave the ad in a strange place: publicly condemned by Acton and her campaign, while also praised at a rally by one of Ramaswamy's most prominent allies. The next step is not a new speech or slogan but whether the campaign keeps elevating the ad or tries to move the race back to policy after two weeks of sustained attention.
